
Three RiversOR
A town of 3,995 in Oregon.
Is Three Rivers a good place to live?
The weak point is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $558K, 6.2 years of the Bend metro’s $90K median household income. With a C+ overall, Three Rivers sits 58th of 142 in Oregon. Set against the rest, it does better than 40% of U.S. towns. Schools are its strong suit (A) — its schools outperform 88% of the state's. Add health to its strengths — residents are healthier than just over three quarters of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On history, just 18 of Oregon’s 228 towns do worse. Three Rivers’ rent at the middle of the market is $2,250 a month, above both the Oregon town median ($1,413 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Only 5 of the 142 Oregon towns we compare have a lower January low than Three Rivers.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
What makes Three Rivers stand out
Where Three Rivers beats most towns.
Three Rivers has grown 30% from 2010 to 2020
3,014 counted in 2010 and 3,925 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Three Rivers grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Three Rivers is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Three Rivers: who provides what
Three Rivers is unincorporated, so Deschutes County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Oct 2, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Three Rivers.
Three Rivers has a shorter frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Bend and beyond.
A smaller share of adults sleep under 7 hours in Three Rivers than in most of Oregon or the rest of the country
For adults in Three Rivers, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 17%. Against the Oregon average, Three Rivers comes out ahead on 6 CDC measures out of 26, and behind on 2. In Three Rivers, 29% of adults have obesity, and 18% get no exercise outside work.
| Three Rivers | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 32% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 21% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Three Rivers | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 8.5% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.9% | 12.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.8% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
About two in five of Three Rivers’ working residents commute to Bend
Three Rivers has 453 jobs for its 1,541 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Three Rivers: 4.7% of working residents work locally. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 280, to 453. Half the trips to work are shorter than 18 miles. The top destinations are Bend (38%), Sunriver (12%) and Portland (7%).
| Three Rivers | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 11% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Three Rivers, with inland flooding at the top
Compared with 77% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Three Rivers is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 86% come from inland flooding.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three Rivers has snowy winters and pleasant summers
The Wickiup Dam weather station, 15 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 100 days, shorter than in 100% of U.S. towns.
A winter brings about 74 inches of snow, with January nights at 22° and July afternoons at 83°.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Three Rivers, 5.1% of the land is conserved
4.8 miles of trail. The trail density for Three Rivers comes to 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Three Rivers | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Fewer young adults than Oregon overall
44% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Three Rivers. Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 45% of residents (39% statewide).
| Three Rivers | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 27% | 29% |
| Median age | 45.1 years | 39.3 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 18% | 21% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 18% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
47% women, 53% men
About 115 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.5 points). Across Oregon, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Three Rivers | OR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 10.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.8% | 9.6% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.2% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16% | 14.1% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.7% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 16.1% | 11.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.3% | 7.6% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.4% | 8.2% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.1% | 22.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.5% | 23.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 9.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.1% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.8% | 14.1% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,000, single groups can be off by several points
The median rent in Three Rivers is higher than in the typical Oregon or U.S. town
Among 142 Oregon towns, just 3 have a higher owner-occupancy rate than Three Rivers.
| Three Rivers | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,250 a month | $1,413 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 92% | 65% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Three Sisters and 8 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Three Rivers. Close and well known come first.
24 mi MountainThree Sisters
15 mi MountainNewberry Volcano
15 mi Park & preserveNewberry National Volcanic Monument15 mi Ski areaMt. Bachelor128 runs · 3,233 ft vertical
11 mi MuseumHigh Desert Museum150K visitors a year
27 mi MuseumPetersen Rock GardenPhoto credits
Three Sisters: USGS photo by Lyn Topinka, Public domain · Newberry Volcano: USGS photo by Lyn Topinka, Public domain · Newberry National Volcanic Monument: USGS photo by Lyn Topinka, Public domain · High Desert Museum: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Petersen Rock Garden: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Three Rivers
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Three Rivers; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Three Rivers residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
95% of working residents leave Three Rivers for work
Where Three Rivers’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Three Rivers
Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States
Three Rivers South or Three Rivers is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,014 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,186 ft
- Area code
- 458, 541
Three Rivers’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Three Rivers.
| Town | OR rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Rivers | #58 | C+ | D | — | A | A− |
| Sunriver | — | — | D | B− | A | A |
Sunriver has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Three Rivers reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Three Rivers with a neighbor →
Questions about Three Rivers
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Three Rivers, OR a good place to live?
Three Rivers grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #58 of 142 in Oregon. It grades A− for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Three Rivers, OR expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $558,000, 13% above the Oregon typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.